After being placed on the "right track," it failed in the Senate on March 7 by a vote of 18 Nays; 11 Ayes; 1 Not Voting. Shortly after, Sen. Carlyle Begay brought it up again. (Only senators who voted Nay can do that, which is why Sen. Begay voted Nay.)

So, it can be Reconsidered. The problem is this: Is there anybody who can turn some of those Nays into Ayes?

YES! YOU! See below for the names and contact information of Senators who voted Nay, followed by some Truths that YOU must convey to them, in order to convince them to change their vote.

Click HERE for the Excel File of Senators who Voted Nay. (Sen. Miranda did not vote.) Please contact them via Phone, Facebook, Email, In Person, and Twitter. If you cannot open the file, please send me an email at anitalchristy@cox.net, and I will send it to you.

The Truth About Why You Should Support SB1455. (These are prioritized based on the most common objections voiced by senators, and are not necessarily in order of your or my priority.)

1. Standardized tests, including AzMERIT, are not the only assessments given to students throughout the year. In fact, Standardized tests are unreliable in assessing a student's educational progress. AzMERIT has never been validated or proven to be an indicator of a student's progress. AzMERIT doesn't tell us anything about third-grade promotion. AzMERIT is given in the Spring, but the results aren't available until November, which is three months after the next school year begins! Teachers have no input into Standardized Tests. Teachers aren't allowed to see the tests. Teachers don't see their students' tests, even after they've been graded by third parties. Parents don't see the graded tests. Students don't see the graded tests. Nobody has any idea what answers were right, and which were wrong!

Better methods of evaluating student needs and progress already exist. Careful observations and documentation of student work and behaviors by trained teachers is more helpful than a one-time test. Assessment based on student performance on real learning tasks is more useful for measuring achievement and provides more information for teaching than multiple-choice achievement tests. Parents working with teachers, term grades, homework performance--these and other indicators are far better than AzMERIT. See How Standardized Testing Damages Education.

What does this video have to do with Arizona? This teacher is talking about the same kind of High Stakes Tests that are given to children here in Arizona as young as 8 years old. AzMERIT is forced upon students, beginning in the third grade, and every year through high school. In Arizona, it's AzMERIT; in Utah, it's SAGE; in Florida it's the FSA. All of these states, including Ohio and others, have paid $Millions to American Institutes for Research, one of the world's largest behavioral and social science research and evaluation organizations to create these tests.

As a parent, have you stood up for your child and opted out of AzMERIT? Have you stood firm in the face of opposition from teachers, principals, school administrators, and the State? If not, learn more by clicking HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE.

Like you, this has been an especially stressful session for me, too. SB1416 (previously SB1313 previously SB1416 previously HB2184) is not what I planned to fight this session.

I planned to do all possible to help parents protect their children from politicians and corporations that are using and abusing them, under the guise of “assessing their academic progress.” AzMERIT by any name is an abomination brought to us by the Governor-appointed personalities on the State Board of Education (SBE). In fact, it was the SBE that brought us AIMS, PARCC, and every other useless standardized test that has literally accomplished nothing in improving student achievement in Arizona.

It was the State Board of Education (SBE) that agreed to Common Core in Jan. 2010, before it was even written. The SBE fell into lockstep to do what Governor Brewer required of them. It was also the SBE that formally approved, in June 2010, the implementation of Common Core after a Dog and Pony Show put on by Dr. William McCallum, one of the lead math writers. In fact, I didn’t find any evidence in the Minutes that the SBE reviewed the standards. Not that it mattered. The Governor wanted them, because she blindly believed the experts, plus she saw a chance at the $250 million jackpot called Race To The Top. Even the “vetting” that went on within Arizona when teachers were brought in for their “opinions” of draft standards was nothing more than a publicity stunt on the part of the Common Core Team headed by David Coleman, who is well known as the chief architect. The “fix” was in from start to finish. The SBE didn’t do any independent “vetting” of their own.

Common Core Standards didn’t take years to put into place. They were literally dumped on teachers, kids, and parents, as witnessed by the revolt that occurred all across America, including the revolt of the grassroots in Arizona who did the vetting.

I could go on with many more examples of the wasteful, incompetent, downright dangerous performance of the Governor-appointed State Board of Education and why they need less, not more, powers and duties. But that’s for another day.

You have stated that SB1416 is “the most misunderstood bill of the session with the most misinformation circulating among the grassroots organizations mostly fueled by their support of the Superintendent.”

We aren’t alone. Many Arizona senators and representatives join us in our precise understanding of the negative effects of this bill.

If SB1416 is approved, this is what the people who voted for Diane Douglas will know:

The first effort to strip our duly elected Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) of powers was during the Legislature's last session. Thankfully, HB2184was held in the House. The second whack at our eleted SPI was brought forward this session by Sen. Jeff Dial, via SB1416.

The House Education Committee will meet on Wednesday, March 16, at 2:00 PM, to vote on SB1313. Click HERE for the agenda. Please call, visit, use the RTS (virtual Request to Speak), email the following Committee members as soon as possible!

But affirming parents’ opt-out rights could be sidelined because some senators think it’s unnecessary. "Just keep children home ‘sick’ during the test day. What’s the big deal?”

Testing today isn’t what it used to be some years ago. We’d show up at school, spend a couple of hours filling in bubbles, and go home. The biggest worry back then was making sure we brought enough number two pencils with us.

These days, parents and students are lucky if they’re even informed about the testing dates far enough in advance to stay home "sick," since assessment periods can span as much as 6 weeks. So there’s no practical way for parents to simply opt-out in absentia.

But here’s the really big deal based on what parents and children endured last spring when a similar opt-out protection bill failed in the Senate by one vote.

Many parents were told that if they kept their children home, their children wouldn’t be allowed back into their classes until they took the assessment.

SB 1455 will be voted on by Arizona Senators on Monday, March 7, during the "Third Read" at 1:30 pm. This bill, sponsored by Sen. Sylvia Allen, gives parents the legal authority to opt their children out of the statewide assessment adopted by the State Board of Education, including AzMERIT, with no penalty to the child, school, or school district.

Please call your and other Senators' offices beginning now and leave a voicemail message. Follow up again Monday morning. Ask them to please vote YES to SB 1455 during the Third Read on Monday. See list of senators, with phone numbers and email addresses, by clicking on this article titled Opt Out Bill Hearing Today (UPDATE).

Last session, a similar bill failed by ONE VOTE. This session, all senators are under extreme pressure by special interests that stand to gain money, power, school rankings, human cogs in the corporate machine, and private student data by keeping both Common Core and standardized testing in place. It's an election year for these senators. Click HERE for the live proceedings and watch how they vote!

During last Thursday's COW (Committee of the Whole), Senator Allen supported SB1455 by citing ARS 1-601, which declares the "fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children is a fundamental right." She also cited ESSA provisions that allow states and parents to opt students out of standardized testing.

Statewide assessments are among the most controversial and least effective methods of assessing a child’s educational progress. If parents across the country are opting their children out of statewide assessments, there’s a good reason.

For those who are interested in knowing more about why parents despise AzMERIT and standardized testing, keep reading.